1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus and a laser induced thermal imaging method, and a fabricating method of an organic light-emitting diode using the same, and more specifically to a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus and a laser induced thermal imaging method capable of improving adhesion between an acceptor substrate and an imaging layer of a donor film by means of a magnetic force by providing the substrate with a magnet and a contact frame having a magnetic substance when an organic film layer is laminated on the acceptor substrate using the laser induced thermal imaging method; and a fabricating method of an organic light-emitting diode using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aspects of the present invention relate to a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus and a laser induced thermal imaging method, and a fabricating method of an organic light-emitting diode using the same, and more specifically, to a laser induced thermal imaging apparatus and a laser induced thermal imaging method capable of improving adhesion between an acceptor substrate and an imaging layer of a donor film by a magnetic force by providing the substrate with a magnet and a contact frame with a magnetic substance when an organic film layer of the donor film is laminated on the acceptor substrate using the laser induced thermal imaging method; and a fabricating method of an organic light-emitting diode using the same.
Among methods for forming an organic film layer of an organic light-emitting diode, a deposition method, in which an organic film layer is formed by vacuum-depositing an organic light-emitting material with a shadow mask, has disadvantages such as it is difficult to form a superfine micropattern due to such issues as a deformed mask, etc., and it is also difficult to be applied to a large-area display.
In order to solve the problems of the deposition method, there has been proposed an ink jet method for directly patterning an organic film layer. The ink jet process is a method for forming an organic film layer by discharging a discharge solution from a head of the ink jet printer, where the discharge solution is made by dissolving or dispersing a light-emitting material in a solvent. The ink jet process is relatively simple in processing, but has disadvantages such as a reduced yield and a non-uniform film thickness, and it is difficult to apply to a large-area display.
Meanwhile, there has been proposed a method for forming an organic film layer using a laser induced thermal imaging process. In the laser induced thermal imaging method, an imaging layer is closely adhered to an acceptor substrate and then transferred thereto by the heat of a laser beam. The transfer is accomplished by scanning a laser to a donor film which includes a base substrate, a light-heat converting layer and an imaging layer; converting the laser beam passed through the base substrate into heat in the light-heat converting layer to extend the light-heat converting layer, and extending the adjacent imaging layers such that where the laser beam is scanned the organic layer is transferred to the acceptor substrate. Inherent advantages of the laser induced thermal imaging method include high-resolution pattern formation, uniformity of film thickness, an ability to laminate a multilayer, and extendibility into large-sized motherglasses.
The conventional laser induced thermal imaging method is typically carried out under a vacuum so that a same chamber in which the light-emitting layer is transferred can be aligned with other deposition processes upon forming the light-emitting device, but when the laser induced thermal transfer is carried out under a vacuum state according to the conventional method, it has a disadvantage that a transfer property of the imaging layer is diminished since a coupling force between the donor film and the acceptor substrate is reduced. Accordingly, a method to laminate a donor film and an acceptor substrate is quite beneficial in the case of the laser induced thermal imaging method, and therefore there have been attempts to solve the problems.
Hereinafter, a conventional laser induced thermal imaging method and a conventional laser induced thermal imaging apparatus will be described in detail referring to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a conventional laser induced thermal imaging apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 1, the laser induced thermal imaging apparatus 100 includes a substrate stage 120 arranged inside of a chamber 110 and a laser irradiation apparatus 130 arranged on an upper portion of the chamber 110.
The substrate stage 120 sequentially arranges an acceptor substrate 140 and a donor film 150 introduced into the chamber 110, wherein the first anchoring groove 121 and the second anchoring groove 123 for arranging an acceptor substrate 140 and a donor film 150, respectively, are formed in the substrate stage 120. The first anchoring groove 121 is formed along a circumferential direction of the acceptor substrate 140, and the second anchoring groove 123 is formed along a circumferential direction of the donor film 150. Generally, the acceptor substrate 140 has a smaller area than that of the donor film 150, and therefore the first anchoring groove 121 is formed at a smaller size than that of the second anchoring groove 123.
At this time, in order to carry out the lamination without a foreign substance 101 or a space between the acceptor substrate 140 and the donor film 150, the inside of the chamber 110 in which the laser induced thermal transfer is generated is not maintained under a vacuum, and pipes 161, 163 each connect a lower portion of the first anchoring groove 121 and the second anchoring groove 123, respectively, to a suction port of a vacuum pump P to couple the acceptor substrate 140 and the donor film 150 to each other by suction.
However, while other methods for manufacturing an organic light-emitting diode are performed in a vacuum, the method of closely adhering the acceptor substrate and the donor film by suction of the vacuum pump is ineffective when such a vacuum state exists inside the chamber, and therefore the other methods have a disadvantage that the life span and the reliability of the products are adversely affected due to inadequate coupling.